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Drought-Induced Challenges and Different Responses by Smallholder and Semicommercial Livestock Farmers in Semiarid Limpopo, South Africa—An Indicator-Based Assessment. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14148796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Increased seasonal climatic variability is a major contributor to uncertainty in livestock-based livelihoods across Southern Africa. Erratic rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts have resulted in the region being identified as a climate ‘vulnerability hotspot’. Based on fieldwork conducted in the dry seasons in a semiarid region of South Africa, we present an interdisciplinary approach to assess the differential effects of drought on two types of livestock systems. Organic matter digestibility, faecal crude protein, C/N ratio and the natural abundance of faecal 15N and 13C isotopes were used as ecophysiological feed quality indicators between smallholder and semicommercial systems. These measurements were complemented with qualitative surveys. In a novel approach, we tested the potential of the isotopic signature to predict feed quality and present a significant relationship between organic matter digestibility and isotopic ratios. Indicators assessed smallholder feed quality to be significantly higher than semicommercial feed. However, animals from semicommercial farms were in significantly better condition than those from smallholding farms. Differential access to feed resources suggests that a complex feed–water–land nexus pushes smallholders into high reliance on off-farm supplements to bridge drought-induced feed deficits. The paper thus offers a contribution to intersectional work on drought effects on livestock keepers of semiarid South Africa and illustrates how ecophysiological indicators mirror socioeconomic differences.
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Palladino RA, Olmeda MF, Juliano N, Bargo F, Ipharraguerre IR. Daily fecal pH pattern and variation in lactating dairy cows. JDS COMMUNICATIONS 2022; 3:106-109. [PMID: 36339732 PMCID: PMC9623698 DOI: 10.3168/jdsc.2021-0158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Evidence supports a causal link between anomalous intestinal function and impaired performance in dairy cows. Consequently, digesta pH values obtained from colon, cecum, and rectum are increasingly used to monitor intestinal function in dairy cows. We conducted a study to describe the daily dynamics of fecal pH in lactating dairy cows. The study lasted 4 d and individual records of dry matter intake, milk yield, and fecal pH were taken. Samples of feces were taken every 4 h during the 4-d study, and sampling time was adjusted ahead by 1 h daily so that a sample was obtained for each 1-h interval of the day. Data were analyzed using a mixed-effect model including time as fixed effect and cow as a random factor. We performed a cosinor analysis using pH data at different time points to determine whether fecal pH followed a biorhythmic pattern. On average, cows consumed 19.1 ± 1.55 kg/d of dry matter and produced 26.3 ± 4.16 kg/d of milk. The most relevant results confirmed a biorhythmic pattern for feces pH around feeding time: mesor (midline estimating statistic of rhythm) 6.20, amplitude 0.28, and acrophase 5.66. Additionally, we found a positive relationship between dry matter intake and amplitude, possibly because of an increase in the amount of fermentable carbohydrate reaching the hindgut in response to increasing intake. When using fecal pH as an indicator of intestinal function, it is critical to obtain samples at several time points to capture its daily rhythmicity and to report sampling time relative to feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Alejandro Palladino
- CONICET, Ruta 4 y Juan XXIII, Lavallol 1832, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora, Ruta 4 y Juan XXIII, Lavallol 1832, Argentina
- Fundación Instituto de la Leche, Ruta 205 km 51, Paraje Estancia San Martín, Cañuelas 1814, Argentina
| | - María Florencia Olmeda
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora, Ruta 4 y Juan XXIII, Lavallol 1832, Argentina
- Fundación Instituto de la Leche, Ruta 205 km 51, Paraje Estancia San Martín, Cañuelas 1814, Argentina
| | - Nicolás Juliano
- CONICET, Ruta 4 y Juan XXIII, Lavallol 1832, Argentina
- Fundación Instituto de la Leche, Ruta 205 km 51, Paraje Estancia San Martín, Cañuelas 1814, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av San Martín 4453, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires 1417, Argentina
| | - Fernando Bargo
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora, Ruta 4 y Juan XXIII, Lavallol 1832, Argentina
- Fundación Instituto de la Leche, Ruta 205 km 51, Paraje Estancia San Martín, Cañuelas 1814, Argentina
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Ramadhan MR, Schlecht E, Dickhoefer U, Mahgoub O, Joergensen RG. Feed digestibility, digesta passage and faecal microbial biomass in desert-adapted goats exposed to mild water restriction. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) 2021; 106:721-732. [PMID: 34278606 DOI: 10.1111/jpn.13597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In arid and semi-arid environments, extensively managed ruminants regularly experience drinking water shortage, especially in the dry season. The present study therefore investigated the effects of mild drinking water restriction on feed intake, feed digestibility, solid digesta passage and composition of faeces including faecal microbial biomass. A feeding trial was conducted in Oman, during the dry summer months. Nine adult male Batinah goats were subjected to three watering regimes in a 3 × 3 Latin Square design. Treatments were (1) water offered ad libitum (100%, W100); (2) water restricted to 85% ad libitum consumption (W85); and (3) water restricted to 70% ad libitum consumption (W70). Animals were offered Rhodes grass hay and whole barley grains (1:1 ratio) at 1.3 times maintenance energy requirements. Each of the three experimental periods comprised 16 days of adaptation and 8 days of measurements. During the latter, feed offered and refused as well as faeces were sampled and quantified. Gastrointestinal digesta passage was determined using ytterbium-labelled Rhodes grass hay. Ergosterol and amino sugars were used as markers for faecal microbial biomass, that is the sum of fungi and bacteria. Water restriction had no effect on feed intake and digesta passage. However, feed dry matter, organic matter and fibre digestibility increased (p < 0.05) in W70 compared with W85, and the excreted amount of faecal dry matter, organic matter, nitrogen and neutral detergent fibre decreased (p < 0.05) in W70 compared with W85. Even though water restriction did not affect total faecal microbial biomass carbon (C) concentration, that of fungal biomass C increased (p < 0.05) in W70 compared with W85. Therefore, mild water restriction seems unproblematic from a physiological and nutrient utilization perspective as it increases feed digestibility without compromising feed intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Ramadhan
- Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Witzenhausen, Germany
| | - E Schlecht
- Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Witzenhausen, Germany
| | - U Dickhoefer
- Nutrition and Rangeland Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg Institute), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - O Mahgoub
- College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
| | - R G Joergensen
- Soil Biology and Plant Nutrition, University of Kassel, Witzenhausen, Germany
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Ali AIM, Wassie SE, Joergensen RG, Korir D, Goopy JP, Butterbach-Bahl K, Merbold L, Dickhoefer U, Schlecht E. Feed Quality and Feeding Level Effects on Faecal Composition in East African Cattle Farming Systems. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11020564. [PMID: 33671605 PMCID: PMC7927072 DOI: 10.3390/ani11020564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Sub-Saharan cattle are often exposed to a feed reduction caused by a seasonal lack of forage, which was investigated in the first experiment. The supplementation of roughage-based diets with sweet potato vine silage and urea molasses blocks is recommended to improve the growth of heifers, in particular, which was investigated in the second experiment. Across all data, the fungal C/bacterial C ratio was positively related to nitrogen and negatively to neutral detergent fiber concentrations in feces. This diet-induced shift in the fecal microbial community is relevant for the fertilizer quality of cattle faces after application to soil. Abstract Effects of feeding levels below maintenance requirements of metabolizable energy (MER) and of feed supplementation on fecal nutrient and microbial C concentrations were evaluated. In experiment 1, Rhodes grass hay only was offered to Boran steers at 80%, 60%, and 40% of individual MER, while steers at 100% MER additionally received a concentrated mixture. This reduction in MER decreased N, increased fungal C but did not affect bacterial C concentrations in feces. In experiment 2, Holstein × Boran heifers were offered a poor-quality roughage diet without supplement, with sweet potato vine silage or with a urea-molasses block. These two supplements did not affect the fecal chemical composition or fungal C but increased bacterial C concentrations in feces. Across all data, the fungal C/bacterial C ratio was positively related to N and negatively to neutral detergent fiber concentrations in feces, indicating diet-induced shifts in the fecal microbial community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asep I. M. Ali
- Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and University of Göttingen, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany; (A.I.M.A.); (E.S.)
| | - Shimels E. Wassie
- Animal Nutrition and Rangeland Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; (S.E.W.); (U.D.)
| | - Rainer Georg Joergensen
- Soil Biology and Plant Nutrition, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
- Correspondence:
| | - Daniel Korir
- Livestock, System and Environment, Mazingira Centre, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi 00800, Kenya; (D.K.); (J.P.G.); (K.B.-B.); (L.M.)
| | - John P. Goopy
- Livestock, System and Environment, Mazingira Centre, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi 00800, Kenya; (D.K.); (J.P.G.); (K.B.-B.); (L.M.)
| | - Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
- Livestock, System and Environment, Mazingira Centre, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi 00800, Kenya; (D.K.); (J.P.G.); (K.B.-B.); (L.M.)
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Lutz Merbold
- Livestock, System and Environment, Mazingira Centre, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi 00800, Kenya; (D.K.); (J.P.G.); (K.B.-B.); (L.M.)
| | - Uta Dickhoefer
- Animal Nutrition and Rangeland Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; (S.E.W.); (U.D.)
| | - Eva Schlecht
- Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and University of Göttingen, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany; (A.I.M.A.); (E.S.)
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